Deepening Bilateral Cooperation: Foreign Ministers Bui Thanh Son and Wang Yi Discuss Strategies for Vietnam-China Partnership

During a recent meeting in Guangxi, Foreign Ministers Bui Thanh Son of Vietnam and Wang Yi of China discussed the importance of strengthening the implementation of high-level agreements and common perceptions to promote bilateral relations. This meeting took place within the framework of Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son’s visit to China on April 3-4, marking the first meeting between the two ministers since Vietnam and China upgraded their Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership.

The two ministers reaffirmed the significance of Vietnam-China relations in each country’s foreign policy and stressed the need to coordinate effectively and deploy high-level agreements to continue developing stable and sustainable relations according to the “6 more” orientation. This orientation is based on the six major cooperation directions proposed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official visit to Vietnam in December 2023, which include enhancing political trust, defense and security cooperation, economic and trade cooperation, social foundation, multilateral coordination, and dispute control and resolution.

In terms of economic and trade cooperation, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son called for sustainable balanced cooperation and increased imports of Vietnamese agricultural products from China. He also requested the removal of obstacles in industrial cooperation projects and the acceleration of connecting railways to northern provinces of Vietnam. Additionally, Minister Wang Yi proposed strengthening the strategic connection between China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and Vietnam’s “Two Corridors, One Belt” framework, considering expanding imports of Vietnamese goods, enhancing road traffic connections, education, and tourism cooperation.

Both sides also highlighted the importance of maritime issues, emphasizing the need to implement agreements